• Source:JND
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World Cup 2011: On April 2, 2011, India ended a 28-year wait for cricket’s most coveted prize, lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium. However, the road to glory wasn’t smooth.

Gautam Gambhir and a young Virat Kohli built a steady partnership, setting the stage for an unforgettable chase of 275. Despite a modest tournament with the bat, captain MS Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh, backing himself to handle the legendary Muttiah Muralidaran.

The 15 players are still contributing to the game of cricket - not only as players, but also as coaches, mentors and commentators.

1. MS Dhoni: Indian captain in the 2015 ODI World Cup and played his final international match in the heartbreaking 2019 semi-final loss to New Zealand. A year later, he officially retired, but continues to entertain fans in the IPL, winning two more titles with Chennai Super Kings after his international farewell.

2. Sachin Tendulkar: Tendulkar, India’s leading run-scorer in the 2011 World Cup (482 runs), remains a mentor for Mumbai Indians and a prominent commentator during ICC events.

3. Virat Kohli: Amidst all the retirements, one man still dons the blue jersey—Virat Kohli. The second-youngest member of the 2011 squad, Kohli remains India's only active international cricketer from that historic team.

4. Zaheer Khan: Zaheer, India’s leading wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup, is now the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants.

5. Gautam Gambhir: The hero of the 2011 final, took over as India’s head coach in 2024, leading the team to a dominant Champions Trophy victory last month.

6. Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj Singh, the 2011 Player of the Tournament, is mentoring young players among the likes of Abhishek Sharma, helping shape India's future.

7. Ashish Nehra: The former left-arm pacer is the head coach of Gujarat Titans, guiding them to an IPL title in 2022.

8. Ravichandran Ashwin: Ashwin, who announced his international retirement in December 2024 after amassing 765 wickets across formats. He has reunited with Dhoni after a decade to don the yellow jersey once again.

9. Meanwhile, former stars Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, and S Sreesanth have transitioned into commentary, joining the JioStar IPL broadcast panel.

10. Munaf Patel has transitioned into coaching as the bowling coach for Delhi Capitals.

11. Yusuf Pathan, who has had a unique career shift—he is now a Member of Parliament from Baharampur, West Bengal, while occasionally stepping into the commentary box.